The present invention relates broadly to an electromagnetic wave transmission device and in particular to a waveguide launcher apparatus for coupling a coaxial transmission line to a waveguide array antenna element.
In coupling a hollow waveguide to a coaxial transmission line, it is desirable to convert the waveform from one most suitable for transmission in a coaxial line to a form suitable for propagation in a waveguide. Therefore, the wave in the coaxial line requires that it be converted to a form compatable with the geometry of the waveguide. In the prior art, many techniques for accomplishing this purpose have been proposed and built, and usually have accomplished their basic purpose, but most of them have involved undesirable bulk or complicated devices which have resulted in inefficient transmission. The present invention provides a waveguide launcher apparatus which overcomes the difficulties encountered in the past systems and provides an extremely simple and compact system for coupling a coaxial transmission line to a waveguide array antenna element.